Chapter 3

Earthing

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 Learning Outcome
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Know the fundamental Earthing system arrangements.

Identify the main protection mechanism against electric

shock.

Identify the factors affecting earth impedance.

Wonder how electrical inspection and testing is made

for electrical installation work.
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 Earthing / Grounding
1. Definition
• Earthing:
• Refers to the process of connecting the non-current-carrying
parts of an electrical system (like metallic enclosures of
equipment) to the earth (ground) to prevent shock during
insulation failure.
• Focuses on safety and fault protection.
• Grounding:
• Refers to the process of connecting the current-carrying parts
of an electrical system (like the neutral point of a transformer
or generator) to the earth.
• Focuses on system stability and reference voltage.

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2. Purpose
• Earthing:
• Protects humans and animals from electric shocks by
providing a low-resistance path for fault currents.
• Ensures that exposed metal parts do not reach dangerous
voltages during faults.
• Grounding:
• Stabilizes the voltage of the electrical system.
• Provides a reference point for the system voltage and
ensures proper functioning of overcurrent protection
devices.
• Reduces the risk of equipment damage due to transient
voltages or lightning.

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3. Connection
• Earthing:
• Involves connecting the metal body or non-functional
parts of electrical devices to the earth using earthing
conductors.
• Example: Connecting the metal frame of an appliance to
the ground.
• Grounding:
• Involves connecting a functional part of the system, such
as the neutral point of a transformer, directly to the
ground.
• Example: Neutral grounding in power systems.

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Summary Table

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Definitions
• Solid Earth: A conductor is said to be solidly
earthed when it is electrically connected to an earth
electrode without a fuse, switch, circuit-breaker
or resistance in the earth connection.
• Earth Electrode: A metal plate, pipe or other
conductor, or an array of conductors electrically
connected to the general mass of earth.
• Earthing conductor: is a conductor which connects
part of an electrical installation to an earthing
electrode.

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Cont’d
• Leakage: The passage of electricity in path,
other than that desired, due to imperfect
insulation.
• Earth Continuity Conductor: The conductor,
including any clamp connecting to the earthing
lead or to each other, those parts of an
installation which are required to be earthed.
• It may be in whole or in part the metal conduit
or metal sheath or the armor of the cables or a
special continuity conductor, cable or flexible
cord incorporating such a conductor.

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Electric shock:- the passage of current through the body
of such magnitude as to have significant harmful effects

a) 1 mA–2 mA:- Barely

perceptible, no harmful
effects
b) 5 mA–10 mA:- Throw
a) b) off, painful sensation
c) 10 mA–15 mA:-
Muscular contraction, can’t
let go
d) 20 mA–30 mA:- Impaired
c) d) breathing
e) 50 mA:- and above death

e)
Protection
• Protection in electrical installation design
means:
• Protection of human beings from electric
shock and hazards in case of occurrence of
contact with a powered circuit or any part
thereof.
• Protection of equipment and devices from
over currents and also some faults.
• Protection against fire that may be caused
by overheating of cables, accessories and
devices.

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Cont’d
Electrical protection against the above risks is
provided by two methods.
1. By provision of automatic devices (fuses,
circuit breakers, overload relays,…) which
immediately cutoff the supply. These
devices work in case of over-currents.
2. By provision of a separate and direct path
to earth using grounding systems.

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 Cont…

There are two ways in which we can be at risk.

i. Direct contact:- Touching live parts of equipment or
systems that are intended to be live.
ii. Indirect contact Touching conductive parts which are
not meant to be live, but which have become live due
to a fault.
 Cont…
Protection against direct contact:
✓ insulation of live parts
✓ barriers or enclosures
✓ placing out of reach
Protection against indirect contact:
✓ earthed equipotential bonding coupled with automatic
disconnection of supply
✓ the provision of a non-conducting location.
✓ the use of earth frees equipotential bonding.
✓ electrical separation.
Earthing
• Earthing or grounding is the term used for
electrical connection to general mass of earth in
such a manner that all times an immediate discharge
of electrical energy takes place without danger. It is
classified as:
• System earthing and
• Equipment earthing
• Earthing of neutral in power-houses and sub-
stations belongs to system earthing category. It is
employed to restrict the voltage of live conductors
with respect to the potential of the general mass of
earth to a value consistent with the insulation level.
Equipment earthing signifies earthing of non-
current-carrying metal parts of electrical equipment.
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Objectives of Earthing
• Provide an alternative path for the fault current to
flow so that it will not endanger the user.
• Ensure that all exposed conductive parts do not
reach a dangerous potential. (To ensure potential
deference does not rise with respect to earth with
fault)
• Maintain the voltage at any part of an electrical
system at a known value so as to prevent over
current or excessive voltage on the appliances or
equipment.
• To help protection system to detect and isolate
faults.
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Purpose of earthing
• To save human life from danger of electrical shock or death
by blowing a fuse i.e. to provide an alternative path for the
fault current to flow so that it will not endanger the user
• To protect buildings, machinery & appliances under fault
conditions i.e. to ensure that all exposed conductive parts do
not reach a dangerous potential.
• To provide safe path to dissipate lightning and short circuit
currents.
• To provide stable platform for operation of sensitive electronic
equipment i.e. to maintain the voltage at any part of an
electrical system at a known value so as to prevent over current
or excessive voltage on the appliances or equipment .
• To provide protection against static electricity from friction

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Qualities of Good Earthing
• Must be of low electrical resistance
• Must be of good corrosion resistance
• Must be able to dissipate high fault
current repeatedly

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Method of making a connection to
earth
• An earth electrode should be able to resist
corrosion for a long time.
• The recommended materials are copper,
copper-clad iron, cast iron and galvanized
steel.
• The various type of earth electrodes in use
are:
a) Rod and pipe electrodes
b) Strip electrodes
c) Plate electrodes

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Rod and pip type
• Rod electrodes shall be at least 16mm in diameter of steel,
and 12.5 mm in diameter of copper.
• Pipe electrodes shall not be smaller than 38 mm internal
diameter, of galvanized iron or steel, and 100 mm internal
diameter if made of cast iron.
• The length of rod and pipe electrodes shall not be less than
2.5 m, which shall be driven to a minimum depth of 2.5 m.
• If rock is encountered at a depth of less than 2.5m, the
electrode may be buried inclined to the vertical with
inclination not more than 30 degree from the vertical
• If one electrode fails to give the required low resistance, a
number of such electrodes may be installed and connected in
parallel.
• The distance between two adjacent electrodes should not be
less than twice the length of the electrodes.
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Cont’d

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Strip/tape type
• Strip electrodes shall not be smaller in cross-section
than 25 mm * 1.60mm if of copper, and 25 mm*
4mm if of galvanized iron and steel.
• The length of the buried conductor shall not be less
than 15 m laid in a trench not less than 0.5 m deep.
• If round conductors are used, their cross-sectional
area shall not be smaller than 3.0mm2 in case of
copper and 6.00mm2 in case of galvanized iron and
steel.
• If the conditions necessitate more than one strip,
then they should be laid in widely spaced parallel or
radical trenches.

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Plate type
• Plate electrode may be made of copper, galvanized iron
or steel.
• The size of cooper plate shall not be less than 60
cm×60cm× 3.15mm and that of iron and steel plates not
less than 60cm×60cm×6.30mm.
• The top edge of the plate shall be at a depth not less
than 1.5 m from the surface of ground.
• Where the resistance of one plate electrode is not
satisfactory two or more plates may be used in parallel
with a minimum distance of 8m between the two plates.
• The size of the plate too has an effect on the resistance
but there is little gain with plate area more than 1.75m2
per side.
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Factors affect to the earth
impedance
• Soil
• Weather
• Near by utilities
• Electrode
• Electrode type
• Electrode size
• Electrode in parallel
• Distance between electrode

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Soil resistivity
• The resistivity of earth may vary over extremely
wide limits, depending on the composition of the
soil and the moisture content.
Factors that affect resistivity
• Type of earth (eg, clay, loam, sandstone, granite)
• Stratification; layers of different types of soil (eg, loam
backfill on a clay base)
• Moisture content
• Temperature
• Chemical composition and concentration of dissolved
salt

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Earth impedance may be reduced by:
1 Moisturizing the soil
2 Addition of earthing powder, some mineral
compounds, coal, ferrous or iron powder, salts,
magnesium sulfate, etc….
3 Connecting more than one electrode in parallel.(
keep in mind that the distance between the
electrode must be within the range limit)
4 Earthing is enhanced by bonding earth conductors
to gas, oil, water pipes and structural steel works.

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Earthing arrangement
• Earthing system arrangements are based on the
method of earthing provided by the supply
authority, the relationship between exposed
conductive parts and earth,& the arrangement of
neutral and protective conductors.
• There are three types of earthing arrangements.
These being:
• TT
• IT and
• TN (further divided into TN-S, TN-C, and
TN-C-S).
• The most common are TT, TN-C-S, and TN-S.

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Cont’d
• 1st letter: Source
T = Earthed
I = Isolated
• 2nd letter: Connection of exposed – conductive –
parts to earth
N = Via neutral
T = Independently earthed
• 3rd and 4th letters (for TN systems only): Defines
the combination of neutral and earth conductors.
S = Separate
C = Combined
CS = Combined in supply, separate
in installation

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TT system
• The supply will have the neutral connected to earth
at the supply transformer together with the
metalwork of all casing or enclosures of the
electrical equipment.
• Therefore, the first letter, T, signifies that the supply
has been earthed (T = terra firma = earth).
• And the second letter, T, indicates that the
installation has its own earth electrode.
• This system is commonly met in rural districts
where the incoming supply is by overhead cables
supported on insulators mounted on poles.

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IT system
• This system is similar with TT system but
totally different in supply earthing.
• The distributor system(Supply) have no any
connections to earth or it have only a high
impedance connection.
• It mean the usual protection is not effective
for the system. This type is not for consumer
power supply.
• It special for power distributor such as
substations or generation area.
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TN-S System
• This system has the neutral of power supply with
connection of earth only at one point.
• Again, the first letter T indicates that the supply is
earthed,
• whilst the second and third letter N-S show that the
supply has a neutral which is separate from the
protective conductor(PE) .
• The neutral being insulated from the lead sheath of
the cable.
• Separate neutral and protective conductors
throughout the system.

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TN-C system
• This system is not familiar or unusual for
earthing system.
• A combined neutral conductor fulfills the
functions of both a PE and an N conductor.
• The neutral conductor is the sheath of a cable
and therefore is concentric with (totally
surrounds ) the phase conductor.

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TN –C-S System
• The first letter indicates that the supply is
earthed while the second and third letters N
and C show that the supply neutral and
protective conductor is combined in one.

• This conductor is referred to as a PEN

(Protective earthed neutral) conductor.

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Cont..
• The fourth letter S shows that neutrals and
protective conductors are entirely separate
from one another within the consumer’s
installation, all conductors being insulated.
• Under earth fault conditions now, as the
consumer’s installation is earthed directly to
the incoming neutral, all such faults become
phase to neutral faults which allow a much
larger fault current to flow thus operating
protective devices (fuses, CBs) much more
effectively

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Earth Fault Loop Impedance
• The speed of operation of the protection is very
important and depends on the magnitude of fault
current,
• which in turn will depend on the impedance of the
earth fault loop path.
• The Figures below show the circuit diagram of a
fault at one of the phases; the equivalent circuit is
shown in the right figure.

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Cont’d
• The total loop impedance (Zs):
Zs = Ze+ R1 + R2
• Where, Ze is the impedance of external
installations; transformer, distribution and service
cables
• R1 is the resistance of the phase conductor
• R2 is the resistance of the Circuit Protective
Conductor (CPC)
• The fault current, I:
I =Voc/Zs ; Voc: open circuit voltage,
220V-230V

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Determining the Value of the Total
Loop Impedance (Zs):
• When a building is still in drawing stage, the impedance
of the external installations Ze can be determined by
one of the following methods:
• a) From the data (if available) of supply transformer, the
main distribution cable and the proposed service
cable.
• b) By measuring it (using a phase-to-earth loop
impedance tester) from the supply intake position of an
adjacent building having a service cable of a similar size
and length to that proposed.
• c) Using the maximum likely values of Ze accepted by
the Electricity Regulating Authorities; for example, the
maximum likely values according to IEE regulations
are:

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Cont’d
• For ‘TT system’ is 21Ω
• For ‘TN-S system’ is 0.8Ω
• For ‘TN-C-S system’ is 0.35Ω
• Method (a) is difficult except if detailed data is
available, whilst method (c) may result in
pessimistically large cable size. Method (b) will give a
closer and more realistic estimation of Ze.
• The value of R1 and R2 are determined from tables,
which give values of resistance per meter at a given
temperature; e.g. 20oC
• However, for PVC sheathed cables, the conductor
operating temperature is usually 70oC
• Thus a factor of 1.2 is used to find the actual values of
R1 and R2.

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 Inspection and Testing

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A) Instruments:
• In order to fulfill the basic requirements for testing
according to any Regulation (IEE, IEC, or National
Regulations), the following instruments are needed:
1. A Continuity Tester (low ohms) (bell buzzer or simple
multi meter)
2. An Insulation Resistance Tester-High-Reading Ohm
meter (called Megger)
3. A Loop Impedance Tester- special ohmmeter 0-2000
ohm
4. An RCD Tester
5. A Prospective Short-Circuit Current (PSCC) Tester
6. An Approved Test Lamp or Voltage Indicator

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B) Visual Inspection
• The visual inspection part of the initial verification
is the process of assessing the installation prior to
testing.
• The inspection shall be made to verify that the
installed electrical equipment is:
• In compliance with the Electric Installation Code
(in Ethiopia)
• Correctly selected and erected in accordance with
the Electrical Installation Code
• Not visibly damaged or defective so as to impair
safety

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Steps of inspections
• A sequence of inspections must be conducted, prior
testing, for any installation; some of these are:
1. Diagrams: Are diagrams, instructions and similar
information relating to the installation available?
2. Connection of Conductors : Are terminations
electrically and mechanically sound, and whether
insulation and sheathing is removed only to a
minimum to allow satisfactory termination? Is there
any loose connection?

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Cont’d
3. Identification of Conductors: Are conductors
correctly identified in accordance with Regulations
and Standards; color, size and type?
4. Labeling : Are all protective devices, switches
(where necessary) and terminals of conductors
correctly labeled? Is numbering used in Distribution
Boards?
5. Routing of Cables : Are cables installed in such a
way that account is taken of external influences such
as mechanical damage, corrosion, heat, etc.?

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Cont’d
6. Conductor Selection : Are conductors selected for
Current-Carrying Capacity and Voltage Drop in
accordance with the design requirements?
7. Connection of Single Pole Devices : Are single
pole protective and switching devices connected in
the live conductor only?
8. Protection against Shock: What methods have
been used to provide protection against an electric
shock?

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Cont’d
9. Isolation and Switching: Are there correctly located
and installed appropriate devices for isolation and
switching?
10. Protective Devices: Are protective devices,
monitoring devices, and meters correctly chosen and set
to ensure fault protection against indirect contact and/or
overcurrent?
11. Access : Are all means of access to switches,
switchgears, and equipments adequate?
12. Notices and Signs : Are danger notices and warning
signs present?
13. Thermal Effects : Are fire barriers present where
required, and protection against thermal effects provided?
14. Accessories and Equipments: Are all accessories
and equipments correctly connected?
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C) Testing
The order and nature of tests to be made
is:
a) Continuity of protective conductors
b) Continuity of ring final circuit conductors
c) Earth electrode resistance
d) Insulation resistance
e) Insulation of site built assemblies
f) Protection by electrical separation of circuits
g) Protection against direct contact by barriers or
enclosures provided during erection
h) Insulation of non-conducting floors and walls
i) Polarity
j) Earth fault loop impedance
k) Operation of residual current devices
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